Sport and Exercise Medicine: Physical Activity, Musculoskeletal Adaptation and Health Prevention

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 9985

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Sport, Institute of Physical Culture, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, 85-064 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: sport physiology; water sports; high altitude medicine; health-related fitness; exercise energy metabolism; inflammation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern life is gaining more and more momentum; everything is happening much faster than 10 or 20 years ago. People are flooded with thousands of pieces of information, and access to them is virtually continuous and unlimited. Under these circumstances, taking any action by a person—whether in the area of everyday life (professional work, family, social relations, economy or politics) or pursuing one's passions (sports, travel, artistry)—is increasingly associated with increased burden and tension, causing a number of changes, such as physiological, emotional and psychological. These changes occur in all systems and organs, with varying degrees of intensity and dynamics, which is closely related to the subjective feeling of stress. The ability to deal with them, properly manage them and utilize relaxation skills seem to be crucial in maintaining full health (physical and mental) and sustaining our body while maintaining high productiveness and a high level of performance. This applies to practically every aspect of life. The post-pandemic period has shown that these problems also affect athletes, even those at the highest levels. Thus, they grasped the attention of the world of science. On the other hand, there is much evidence that physical exercise or regular physical activity has a beneficial effect on the human body and has a preventive effect on the syndrome of burnout or excessive stress. Therefore, we wanted to cover this obstacle in a broad scope. This Special Issue focuses on "Sport and Exercise Medicine: Physical Activity, Musculoskeletal Adaptation and Health Prevention", and includes all important topics related to sport, physical activity, stress, burnout and the physiological basis of these phenomena. We encourage and invite you to submit your papers and manuscripts to this Special Issue. Submissions of original articles, systematic reviews, short communications and other types of articles on related topics are welcome. All manuscripts will follow standard journal peer-review practices, and those accepted for publication will appear in the Special Issue of "Sport and Exercise Medicine: Physical Activity, Musculoskeletal Adaptation and Health Prevention". We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Tomasz Grzywacz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 12588 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Resistance Training with Outdoor Fitness Equipment on the Body Composition, Physical Fitness, and Physical Health of Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
by Pablo J. Marcos-Pardo, Alejandro Espeso-García, Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal, Tomás Abelleira-Lamela and Noelia González-Gálvez
Healthcare 2024, 12(7), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12070726 - 26 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1421
Abstract
This study examined the effect of outdoor-fitness-equipment-based resistance training on the health parameters of middle-aged and older adults, as well as analyzing the effect of age on the results found. A total of 149 volunteers were randomly assigned to the training (TG) and [...] Read more.
This study examined the effect of outdoor-fitness-equipment-based resistance training on the health parameters of middle-aged and older adults, as well as analyzing the effect of age on the results found. A total of 149 volunteers were randomly assigned to the training (TG) and control (CG) groups. The TG performed two weekly sessions of resistance training for 8 weeks using outdoor fitness equipment, while the CG continued with their regular daily activities. Body composition was measured using DXA, and the maximal isometric voluntary contraction in knee extension, elbow flexion, and hand grip were assessed, along with the 4 m walk test, the Timed Up and Go Test, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire. The TG showed a significant increase in the lean mass index (p = 0.002) and maximal isometric voluntary contraction in both legs (p < 0.001) and arms (p < 0.001), as well as in physical functioning (p < 0.001) and the role physical dimension (p = 0.006) of the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire, compared to the CG, which showed a decrease in all these variables. In addition, the TG showed a greater decrease in fat mass (p < 0.001), fat mass index (p = 0.003), and the Timed Up and Go Test (p < 0.001) than the CG. Age conditioned the evolution of most of the variables analyzed (p < 0.05). In conclusion, resistance training with outdoor fitness equipment may be useful for improving the health of middle-aged and older adults, although age is a factor that could influence the adaptations found. Full article
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16 pages, 4850 KiB  
Article
The Importance of Physical Activity in Preventing Fatigue and Burnout in Healthcare Workers
by Ildikó Balatoni, Henrietta Varga Szépné, Tímea Kiss, Umar Gambo Adamu, Adam Michał Szulc and László Csernoch
Healthcare 2023, 11(13), 1915; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11131915 - 03 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2871
Abstract
The workers of the health sector are important to the country’s economy in many ways. Healthy and rested workers are highly valuable to the public health sector and give a good perception of their work to patients and society. It is thus important [...] Read more.
The workers of the health sector are important to the country’s economy in many ways. Healthy and rested workers are highly valuable to the public health sector and give a good perception of their work to patients and society. It is thus important to have a sufficient number of healthy working staff in healthcare institutions who do not have work fatigue and burnout. A total of 987 employees—doctors, professional staff, and others—of a large healthcare institution in Hungary voluntarily participated in a survey regarding their lifestyle and physical activity habits and answered the questions anonymously. Women reported less leisure time (p < 0.02), with 54.9% of female respondents saying that they did not exercise regularly, and fatigue was more common among them (p < 0.001). In this respect, the healthcare workers’ responses did not differ from those of the overall population. The most common sports were cycling (17.7%), running (15.4%), and working out in a gym (12.3%). Reasons for not participating in sports included lack of time (70.2%) and fatigue (43.9%) as the most frequent responses. Healthcare workers are exposed to a number of risks that require particular attention to maintain their health. Employers should thus focus on implementing programs that prevent burnout and promote healthy lifestyles. Full article
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15 pages, 9876 KiB  
Article
Psychological Skills Training for Athletes in Sports: Web of Science Bibliometric Analysis
by Inchon Park and Jonghwan Jeon
Healthcare 2023, 11(2), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11020259 - 13 Jan 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5178
Abstract
Psychological Skill Training (PST) for optimal performance in sports has received extensive attention from athletes, coaches, and experts, and numerous studies have been conducted, but despite this interest, it has not been the subject of any bibliographic analysis. The analysis covered 405 articles [...] Read more.
Psychological Skill Training (PST) for optimal performance in sports has received extensive attention from athletes, coaches, and experts, and numerous studies have been conducted, but despite this interest, it has not been the subject of any bibliographic analysis. The analysis covered 405 articles and reviews that were located in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science (Core CollectionTM) between 1992 and 2021. These papers were published by 1048 authors from 543 different universities across 54 countries in 107 different journals. The fundamental bibliometric calculations and co-word networks were completed. As a result, the following thematic elements were grouped into four clusters: (1) PST for stress, mental toughness, and coping, (2) PST for anxiety, motivation, self-confidence, and self-efficacy, (3) PST for flow and mindfulness, and (4) PST for emotions. From the results of this study, it was confirmed that the topic of PST is converging toward the best performance, with various approaches, such as stress management, anxiety control, and coping as techniques for PST. Furthermore, mindfulness and positive psychology studies emphasize athletes’ quality of life, so coaches and experts should pay more attention to improving athletes’ quality of life in future research. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: The role of physical activity in preventing and supporting the treatment of burnout
Authors: Natalia Grzebisz-Zatońska 1*; Tomasz Grzywacz 2
Affiliation: 1 Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Physical Education, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, 00-968 Warsaw, Poland; 2 Faculty of Health Sciences and Physical Culture, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, 85-064 Bydgoszcz, Chodkiewicza 30, Poland
Abstract: Abstract: Although the issue of occupational burnout has been researched for many years, there is still no clear definition and no indicators of this disorder. There is also a lack of accurate knowledge about the impact of physical activity on it. The aim of this article was to discuss the effectiveness of the use and limitations of physical activity in preventing and supporting the treatment of burnout based on an analysis of research findings. Physical activity has been shown to support mental and physical health. However, further research is still needed on the impact of its type, intensity, and volume. A comprehensive assessment of the lifestyle and working conditions of people with job burnout is also worth considering. The nature of work and leisure-time physical activity is also important. There is also still a lack of knowledge about the intensity, volume, type, and frequency of exercise recommendations for the population with this disorder. Future research may also provide answers about diagnostic markers that could be used to diagnose work exhaustion. Keywords: burnout; physical activity; physical activity paradox; leisure-time physical activity; stress; mental health

Title: Effect of resistance training with outdoor fitness equipment on body composition, physical fitness, and physical health of middle-aged and older adults: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Pablo J. Marcos-Pardo; Alejandro Espeso-García; Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal; Tomás Abelleira-Lamela; Noelia González-Gálvez
Affiliation: Injury Prevention in Sport Research Group (PRELEDE). Facultad de Deporte. UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Abstract: The study examined the effect of outdoor fitness equipment-based resistance training on health parameters of middle-aged and older adults. A total of 149 volunteers were randomly assigned to the training (TG) and control (CG) groups. The TG performed two weekly sessions of resistance training for 8 weeks on outdoor fitness equipment, while the CG continued with their regular daily activities. Body composition was measured by DEXA, and maximal isometric voluntary contraction in knee extension, elbow flexion, and hand grip were assessed; along with the 4-m walk test, Timed Up and Go Test, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire. The TG showed a significant increase in lean mass index (p=0.002), maximal isometric voluntary contraction in both legs (p

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